Scenes from Childhood: Piano Works by Pedro Faria Gomes

Kenneth Hamilton

Released on 26/01/2024 by ASC Records
Main artists: Kenneth Hamilton
Genre: Classical

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Robert Schumann's Kinderszenen, Op. 15 ("Scenes from Childhood") are indeed the inspiration for these pieces by composer Pedro Faria Gomes, whose two children were born during the COVID-19 pandemic, and who worked this project out in close collaboration with pianist Kenneth Hamilton. The older child, Joana, is referred to in the title of Gomes' Suite J, and that set captures something of Schumann's nostalgic mood. What makes the work unusual, though, is that it combines that mood with, on one hand, neoclassic procedures -- the Suite J uses recognizable Baroque dances, while the three-movement Sonatina uses broad Classical forms -- and, on the other, fairly rigorous motivic construction associated in the composer's mind with his two children. These approach serial technique, although tonality is not abandoned. Taken together, these three aspects of the music weave diverse ideas tightly into small forms in two of the most remarkable compositions to come out of the pandemic. Hamilton is a major contributor to the album's success. Just as Robert Schumann told Clara to play the Kinderzenen straight and not to force them, so Hamilton offers restrained yet sensitive readings that let the details in Gomes' music emerge naturally. A wonderful offbeat find from the small Prima Facie label that made classical best-seller charts in early 2024.

© James Manheim /TiVo

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Scenes from Childhood: Piano Works by Pedro Faria Gomes

Kenneth Hamilton

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Suite J I. Preludio